International Business Strategy and Base View
Creating awareness and understanding about International Business Strategy (IBS) is an essential aspect for learners. As a student, I proclaim that the opinions presented in this paper are a reflection of personal opinions. My ideas are natural and not biased. Before starting this course, I had gained business strategies knowledge from various companies. Nonetheless, I intend to acquire more knowledge on the subject to become suitable to the rapidly developing global market and business industry. That said, I purposely use the reflection to summarize the things learned and how they relate to my experience.
Week 1
This week introduced the essential aspects of international Business Strategy. The session was broad and covered several elements stemming from basic introductions, critical factors of business operations, to real life applications in modern organizations. I understood why business managers should examine their strategies to attain a competitive edge. The significance of IBS was clearly introduced by the lecturer. Based on my earlier school and work experience, I had learned about business strategies from diverse companies and acquired knowledge from online articles on the subject. However, there was a need to learn more strategies since strategies and needs tend to be adjusted whenever joining a new market or country. I completely agreed with important aspects recorded on PowerPoint and accepted to study IBS because of the speedy development of social media and modern technology. Technology is heavily relied on today and the entire world has become a global village, thanks to globalization (Bartlett & Beamish, 2011). Doing business across the globe compels business owners to provide services or markets products overseas. Hence, they require having an IBS plan. That said, I clearly see the significance of IBS in global business performance. It is through the university international business strategy that I am able to develop a social network with many friends and stand a chance to develop an important network for perfuming both social and economic activities.
Week 2
In this week, I learned more about inside and outside concepts in regards to business environment as described in fig: 1. The outside-in denotes Market Based View (MBV) while inside-out method is Resource Based View (RBV). I noticed an essential difference in perspectives in terms of looking inside the organization, as well as outwards to the market. The analysis of these concepts developed my understanding a far as business strategies are involved. More attention was also given to the concept of strategic fit, and I realized that a firm adapts its strategy to the emerging variations in the environment of business (market-based or outside-in view). The example of shops using vegan options in the United Kingdom to provide for the changing consumer preferences was an eye opener for this subject. The analysis of PESTEL and CAGE gave me an idea of how to analyze strategic fit of a company in new location. While barriers to business include customs and language, I noted that the lack of strategic fit leads to business losses and failure. The lecture made me realize more about Porters Diamond Model, and how to compare countries (UK and Australia) to make firm entry decisions. While the concepts do not often change, I recognized the need to carry out further research to understand the application part in different markets across the globe.
Week 3
This week gave me a chance to learn more about disruptors in the real world of business. Disruptors denote aspects that change business models. Prior to this week, I thought disruptors were businesses that come up with new services and brands in the market to serve their consumers. I always understood inventive firms such as Uber, Apple, and Netflix, among others as influential disruptors because of their reliance on modern tech. Based on the teaching from this week, my idea was correct. However, the reason this companies succeed is because they can disrupt business models by introducing better models. Nonetheless, it came to my realization that several disruptors do not succeed. Before the introduction of Uber in the transport industry, several cabs transported people from different locations to their desired destinations. However, what made Uber a major disruptor was its business model, which entails affordable services, customer safety, and incorporation of modern technology to simplify operations and the services rendered to the customers. It is evident that Uber as a disruptor came right at the growth rate and formed a benchmark from where other disruptors can change the norms and manner operations and products are offered to global consumers.
Week 4
Unlike the previous three weeks, this one was somehow exciting since I had acquired more knowledge concerning IBS and its application in real life business operations. During this week, I had the opportunity to explore the strength of companies’ strategy from a broad standpoint. In this case, I observed that through positioning viewpoint different models, such as door to door and multi-level marketing (MLM) are practical. Based on studies, the positioning perception declares that a firm’s strategy is founded on external environments (Peng, 2009). The aim of positioning is to choose the direction and proceed by selecting a number of customers. MLM businesses and their models remain to be undistinguishable to an extent that it is impossible to distinguish each firm according to the simple descriptions of such businesses. It is worth noting that a MLM firm has its strengths located within their administrative abilities and strategic marketing. Nonetheless, it is quite true saying that they are prosperous since each company can adjust in the market and fulfil the requirements of their potential customers.
Week 5
Lastly, in this week, I was able to understand the importance of balancing accountability and shareholders and stakeholders. Based on the shareholder value, the intention of the business is to maximize profits, although this perception is less prevalent nowadays. Reflecting on social responsible investing, companies have enormous resources and have accountability beyond shareholders. It is my understanding that this opinion is increasingly becoming common. Business should rise above making profits and develop value while maintaining sustainability. Based on the knowledge obtained from this lesson, I was able to understand the value of shareholders and the role of managers in adhering to social responsibility and environmental sustainability. The knowledge gained in this lecture helped me to apply in real life situations. I visited my friends company within my hometown and educated him on how to ensure sustainability and the value of accountability within the shareholders.